Privileged access management
Privileged access management (PAM) is the combination of processes and controls used to limit, protect, and monitor access that can perform administrative or other sensitive actions.
Manage the access, not just the account
A privileged account has sensitive permissions. PAM concerns how those permissions are granted, used, reviewed, and removed, along with the accounts and access paths involved.
A privileged-access strategy covers the account, the device used to administer the system, and the route to the target. Microsoft warns that deploying a PAM or PIM product alone does not protect all of those paths.
PIM is one implementation, not the whole category
Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management manages role assignments and activation, with options such as time limits, approval, access reviews, and audit history. Those are specific capabilities of that service. The broader PAM category includes different tools and approaches, so compare the actual controls and systems covered rather than treating the names as interchangeable.
An activation approval also needs a legitimate purpose. An administrator can satisfy an authentication requirement and still be following a misleading request. Privileged role activation explains how to check the work behind the request.
Include recovery and exception paths in the review: they may grant the same authority as the normal administrative route.